Girls track and field: Newport edges Corona del Mar

Tony Altobelli

CORONA DEL MAR - Newport Harbor High girls track and field standout

Amber Steen runs so fast, even she can’t keep up.

Steen, not sure exactly how many laps she ran, was stunned to hear she

had one less lap to run in her 3,200-meter race with Corona del Mar

runner Julie Allen and the rest of the pack. She came alive and won the

race with a time of 10:46.7.

Her race capped the Sailors’ meet in Tuesday’s 76-60 nonleague win

over the crosstown-rival Sea Kings.

“I had no clue what lap I was on,” Steen said afterward. “The next

thing I knew, we were down to one lap and Julie was ahead of me so I had

to turn it up. I never would have dreamed I would run a time like that.”

Her time was only three seconds off her personal-best time and is one

of the fastest times in the nation, according to CdM Coach Bill Sumner.

“That’s about as good a race as you’re going to have this early in the

season,” Sumner said. “They were flying around that track.”

Allen, who finished second with a 10:49, was actually disqualified for

running on to the infield to pass a runner with two laps remaining.

Sumner didn’t receive the news until after the meet and he wasn’t happy.

“Sometimes, those guys in the red coats (the race officials) should

try not to take themselves so seriously,” Sumner said. “They were warning

runners all day and to DQ Julie for taking two steps on the infield is an

absolute joke. This is a practice meet. Is that supposed to teach Julie a

lesson or something?”

Steen also pulled out a lightning-fast time in the 800 with a 2:18.2,

only a half-second off her personal-best.

“Nothing surprises me about Amber,” Newport girls Coach Eric Tweit

said. “She’s way ahead of schedule, but it’s a long season. Hopefully,

she’ll save some juice for league and CIF.”

Newport sophomore Amy Burlingham won both the 100 (12.7) and 200

(26.4) and was the anchor leg on the 400 relay team with Lisa Owad,

Athena Vasquez and Nadia Topalovic.

Another double-winner for the Sailors included Taylor Govaars, who won

both the discus (84-8) and shot put (29-10 3/4).

Vasquez was also a winner in the 400 (1:04.3).

In the 1,600, the Sea Kings’ trio of Katie Quinlan, Diana Hossfield

and Allen crossed the finish line together with a 53.66, sweeping the

event.

Jaycee Mahler, fresh off her stint with the girls soccer team, swept

the hurdles (17.5 in the 100 and 49.1 in the 300s), while Allison Brawner

won the high jump (5-0).

Krisserin Canary led a Sea Kings’ sweep in the pole vault with a mark

of 8-6.

“It’s always fun to have Newport and CdM get together,” Sumner said.

“We have a very nice facility here and any time one of our local schools

can get some work on it, that’s great. We had some girls come in second

place, but they went up against some pretty good times, that’s for sure.”